The nobility was forced into bonds, legal agreements that they would act as the King wanted or be fined. (We certainly can, and do, decide what sort of king Henry was based on what he had his government get up to, however.). Watch for $0.00 with Prime. [11] When Edward IV became King in 1461, Jasper Tudor went into exile abroad. [50] Henry had pressured the French by laying siege to Boulogne in October 1492. In 1485, history was about to be changed for ever by a man who was a refugee, a fugitive whod spent half his life on the run and with barely a claim to the throne: Henry Tudor. Annoyingly, much of the most interesting stuff concerns his son, and whenever Penn comments intelligently on how the events here affected the future Henry VIII's reign I found myself perking up such as the suggestion that Henry VII's marriage to Elizabeth was the kind of marriage that their second son, Prince Henry, would spend his whole life trying to find. Catherine's mother Isabella I of Castile had died and Catherine's sister Joanna had succeeded her; Catherine was, therefore, daughter of only one reigning monarch and so less desirable as a spouse for Henry VII's heir-apparent. The 17 year-old Prince Henry became King Henry VIII and started a different era. Pembroke Castle, and later the Earldom of Pembroke, were granted to the Yorkist William Herbert, who also assumed the guardianship of Margaret Beaufort and the young Henry. By this marriage, Henry VII hoped to break the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France. Warbeck won the support of Edward IV's sister Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy. Pembroke Castle, birthplace of Henry VII [ JKMMX ] [ CC BY-SA 3.0 ]. He was supported in this effort by his chancellor, Archbishop John Morton, whose "Morton's Fork" was a catch-22 method of ensuring that nobles paid increased taxes: those nobles who spent little must have saved much, and thus could afford the increased taxes; in contrast, those nobles who spent much obviously had the means to pay the increased taxes. Reading this, I got a much better understanding of where Henry VIII came from, and why he was destined to be the colorful ruler he became, as an antidote to his own father. [citation needed], Henry's most successful diplomatic achievement as regards the economy was the Magnus Intercursus ("great agreement") of 1496. of course, a large proportion of my opinion is probably due to the fact that i knew a lot about henry vii already, and Penn tried to create quite a thrilling/mysterious feel, which is all well and good if you don't already know how everything plays out. The whole system was ingeniously designed to ensure the unchallenged supremacy of the king while stamping out any challenges to his authority from the nobles, merchants, and commons. Penn ended the programme by visiting the tombs of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York in Henrys chapel at Westminster Abbey, a chapel that remains at the heart of political life. He had unified the kingdom, accrued immense wealth and created the most notorious dynasty in English history: the Tudors. Through luck, guile and ruthlessness, Henry VII, the first of the Tudor kings, had clambered to the top of the heap--a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England's throne. Consultant editor for the. [citation needed] His first chance came in 1483 when his aid was sought to rally Lancastrians in support of the rebellion of Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham, but that revolt was defeated before Henry could land in England. The treaty marks a shift from neutrality over the French invasion of Brittany to active intervention against it. I am glad to say that I think it does, for it concentrates on the reign, and court, of Henry VII, giving a different slant to the well known story. [48], Henry later concluded a treaty with France at Etaples that brought money into the coffers of England, and ensured the French would not support pretenders to the English throne, such as Perkin Warbeck. Elizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until her death on February 11th, 1503. Henry VII is usually treated as a charmless and thrifty prelude to the big reign of Henry VIII, with the inevitable marriage of Henry and Catherine of Aragon, and the reversal of his father's bully policies for a golden age of chivalry and, you know, all the crazy shit Henry VIII was about to do. What are the differences between Henry VII and Henry VIII? Henry VIII Books Exploring the Best Books on Englands Most Infamous King, 18 February 1516 The birth of Queen Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. [65] Henry VII was shattered by the loss of Elizabeth, and her death impacted him severely. This book is a nonfiction look at King Henry the VII. Claiming to be Edward, earl of Warwick, the son of Richard IIIs elder brother, George, duke of Clarence, he had the formidable support of John de la Pole, earl of Lincoln, Richard IIIs heir designate, of many Irish chieftains, and of 2,000 German mercenaries paid for by Margaret of Burgundy. [31] Despite such precautions, Henry faced several rebellions over the next twelve years. The Lancastrian Henry and his Yorkist wife Elizabeth strove to reconcile the factions, but unreconciled Yorkists, to whom he was no more than a usurper, harassed his reign. As we know, Henry VII was true to his word, married Elizabeth and they founded the Tudor dynasty between them. I would read more by this author. A man who rewrote history and rebuilt the crown, but who was paranoid, manipulative and suspicious; a dark prince with a wintery reign. Indeed he was born in winter, on January 28th 1457, in Pembroke Castle, in Wales and that is one of the reasons why the Welsh dragon always formed part of his insignia. Detailed Information. Bacon wanted the future Charles I to learn from Henry's reign, but the financial methods that would provoke fatal opposition to Charles look pale beside the exactions levied by Henry from often innocent subjects, who were denied legal process or threatened with trumped-up prosecutions and had to buy their freedom (though at moments of apparently impending death the king would repent of his methods and have the jails cleared and pardons issued). [70] Henry VII falls among the minority of British monarchs that never had any known mistresses, and for the times, it is very unusual that he did not remarry: his son Henry was the only male heir left after the death of his wife, thus the death of Arthur created a precarious political position for the House of Tudor. They were appointed for every shire and served for a year at a time. His spies and informers were everywhere. The marriage between Arthur, Prince of Wales, and Catherine of Aragon would be the culmination of everything that Henry VII had fought for at the Battle of Bosworth, so in 1501 there was a fortnight of marriage celebrations and London was in a carnival mood. The father's government was an exercise in discoloration. In many ways, it highlights that Henry VIII was a feckless inheritor of the tools of Machiavellian power, but had no idea to what productive end to put them. I thought the book was well written, even though a bit dry is spots. Not only was . Henry VIII was the first English king to be called "Your Majesty.". Henry was a remarkable man. Their powers and numbers steadily increased during the time of the Tudors, never more so than under Henry's reign. [34], When the King's agents searched the property of William Stanley (Chamberlain of the Household, with direct access to Henry VII) they found a bag of coins amounting to around 10,000 and a collar of livery with Yorkist garnishings. Henry VII, grown rich from Morton's Fork and other squeezes, was far from a bumpkin trying to break into the royal circles of western Europe--he was being courted, and he knew very well to play Castile (Hapsburg) and Aragon off against one another after Isabella died (and Catherine might very well have been packed off home to marry someone else, it was common). Thus, Henry Tudor had no choice but to gather together an army including mercenary soldiers as well as his own supporters, and he landed in Wales in August, 1485. The union was both symbolic and necessary. [citation needed], All Acts of Parliament were overseen by the justices of the peace. And yet this time removed was summer's time, The teeming autumn, big with rich increase, Bearing the wanton burden of the prime, Like widow'd wombs after their lords . He died shortly afterwards in Carmarthen Castle. He is credited with many administrative, economic and diplomatic initiatives. Henry Tudor is a familiar name to students of English history, especially the military side of it. However, this treaty came at a price, as Henry mounted a minor invasion of Brittany in November 1492. It was presented by historian Thomas Penn, author of Winter King and was an excellent examination of the King who, as Penn pointed out, tend to be eclipsed by Richard III, the glamour and notoriety of Henry VIII and the charisma of Elizabeth I. The reigns of his three predecessors were interrupted or foreshortened. He would learn better as the new reign unfolded. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort, was a descendant of the Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet. [citation needed], In 1506, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller Emery d'Amboise asked Henry VII to become the protector and patron of the Order, as he had an interest in the crusade. Luther made a protest against the Catholic practice of Indulgences. 7.1 59min 2013 16+. Henry VII The Winter King is also the title of a book by Thomas Penn, and a useful read. Alternate titles: Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, Professor of Medieval History, University of Liverpool, 196780. All the powers of Europe doubted Henrys ability to survive, and most were willing to shelter claimants against him. But definitely rewarding! [citation needed], Henry also made some political capital out of his Welsh ancestry in attracting military support and safeguarding his army's passage through Wales on its way to the Battle of Bosworth. Iain Hollingshead reviews Henry VII: Winter King, a BBC Two documentary which examines how the first Tudor monarch came to power and went on to have a 23-year reign. Philip died shortly after the negotiations. The dispute eventually paid off for Henry. Henry Tudor, named after his father, Henry VII, was born by Elizabeth of York June 28, 1491 in Greenwich Palace. However, as France was becoming more concerned with the Italian Wars, the French were happy to agree to the Treaty of Etaples. [24][17][25] He was 29 years old, she was 20. Henry VII was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII. There's a lot of cloak-and-dagger stuff here, something Henry and certain of his counselors seemed especially skilled at, and it was those parts that I particularly enjoyed. Stephens, "affords some illustrations of the avaricious and parsimonious character of the king". For instance, except for the first few months of the reign, the Baron Dynham and the Earl of Surrey were the only Lord High Treasurers throughout his reign. After Edward retook the throne in 1471, Henry Tudor spent 14 years in exile in Brittany. Castles of . Henry IV had confirmed Richard IIs legitimation (1397) of the children of this union but had specifically excluded the Beauforts from any claim to the throne (1407). If he trusted anyone, it would be his queen and why not, since both had so much in common both being familiar with being in sanctuary, and pawns in the game of power? His history plays depicted the dramatic conflicts of the wars of the roses, which Henry's accession after his victory at Bosworth in 1485 brought to an end. [2] His father died three months before his birth. More than a biography of Henry VII, this book is really a highly detailed history of the last ten years of his reign, and how he meticulously and ruthlessly turned England into a police state ruled by what amounted to an organized crime syndicate. I had an idea Henry VII was a force for stability; in fact he was a terrifying kleptocrat, abusing the law with arbitrary fines and imprisonment, scheming to effectively steal entire estates and wring every penny out of subjects as well as impose political control through financial means. [citation needed] Following the example of Edward IV, Henry VII created a Council of Wales and the Marches for his son Arthur, which was intended to govern Wales and the Marches, Cheshire and Cornwall. Two themes of his book preside: the permanent vulnerability of Henry's regime, and his ruthless methods of rule. The parts on how he abused his position and the law to enrich himself while an entire nation watched helplessly are, frankly, pretty relevant to now. 24th April 2023 - courses open for registrations. Wolf Hall this is not. This is why he named the book the Winter King. In 1622 Francis Bacon published his History of the Reign of King Henry VII. When the Lancastrian cause crashed to disaster at the Battle of Tewkesbury (May 1471), Jasper took the boy out of the country and sought refuge in the duchy of Brittany. Penn then went on to talk about the heir to the throne, the young Prince Henry, who seemed very different to the King. This is why he named the book the "Winter King". The Field of Cloth of Gold: Royal Revelry. In response to this threat within his own household, the King instituted more rigid security for access to his person. [57], In 1506, Henry extorted the Treaty of Windsor from Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy. His account of Henry's government is more contentious than he lets on. The research was thorough and it was presented well and kept me engaged. Thomas Mores coronation poem for Henry VIII contrasted the new Kings reign with the dark days of the past. The King, normally a reserved man who rarely showed much emotion in public unless angry, surprised his courtiers by his intense grief and sobbing at his son's death, while his concern for the Queen is evidence that the marriage was a happy one, as is his reaction to Queen Elizabeth's death the following year, when he shut himself away for several days, refusing to speak to anyone. It was 1501. People saw him as being like a traditional king and hoped that his reign would bring positive change. Present were exiles from Richards court, friends of Edward IVths queen, but King Richard was able to bribe the ageing Duke of Brittany to relinquish Henry in return for funds to fight an increasingly hostile French king, whereupon Henry Tudor flew to the French court for sanctuary. Its goals, relentlessly pursued until Henry's death in 1509, were the establishment of a royal house, the elimination of opposition, and the steady accumulation of power and wealth. His legacy was his son, Henry VIII, lucky old England Penn commented. Henry VII declared himself king by just title of inheritance and by the judgment of God in battle, after slaying Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Then in 1491 appeared a still more serious menace: Perkin Warbeck, coached by Margaret to impersonate Richard, the younger son of Edward IV. [19] He marched toward England accompanied by his uncle Jasper and John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford. [citation needed] John Cabot, originally from Genoa and Venice, had heard that ships from Bristol had discovered uncharted new found territory far west of Ireland. Henry VII died on 21 April 1509, and the 17-year-old Henry succeeded him as king. The Lancastrians triumphed under the leadership of a 28-year-old exile named Henry Tudor. Henry VII's reign has yielded an evocative study, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, ILLUSTRATION: CLIFFORD HARPER/AGRAPHIA.CO.UK. There he found more English fugitives, willing to invade England in support of Henry, and bearing news that Richard III had serious plans to marry the princess Elizabeth himself. Celebrating the release of The Colour of Bone A London Charnel House. He created the sovereign coin to spread the message that he was King. I'm not giving this a star rating because I suspect it's me at fault not the book. Both were survivors and as united in death as in life, as their tomb in Westminster Abbey illustrates. He became paranoid and made the decision that if his people couldnt love him then they should fear him. [citation needed], To secure his hold on the throne, Henry declared himself king by right of conquest retroactively from 21 August 1485, the day before Bosworth Field. Together, they had seven children. 1) The number of books on Henry VII can basically be counted on one hand 2) This is Penns first book. Elizabeth had died in childbirth, so Henry had the dispensation also permit him to marry Catherine himself. With the assistance of the Italian merchant banker Lodovico della Fava and the Italian banker Girolamo Frescobaldi, Henry VII became deeply involved in the trade by licensing ships, obtaining alum from the Ottoman Empire, and selling it to the Low Countries and in England. Edward, Earl of Warwick, the ten-year-old son of Edward IV's brother George, Duke of Clarence, was the senior surviving male of the House of York. The Merchant Adventurers, the company which enjoyed the monopoly of the Flemish wool trade, relocated from Antwerp to Calais. The author does a good job drawing on his sources and bringing the characters to life while staying true to the history, but the subject matter is just not inherently as sexy as Henry VIIIs or Elizabeth Is reigns. [76] He was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII (reigned 150947), who would initiate the Protestant Reformation in England. France, Burgundy, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and the Hanseatic League all rejected the treaty, which was never in force. It took Henry, who in any case needed to marry her if the expected issue was to solve the succession problem, some six years to achieve their joint purpose. His father was the son of Owen Tudor, a Welsh squire, and Catherine of France, the widow of King Henry V. His mother was the great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, whose children by Catherine Swynford were born before he married her. However, King Henry the VIII was much more self-centered as most of his spending was inappropriate and did not benefit England much. It is not known precisely where Cabot landed, but he was eventually rewarded with a pension from the king; it is presumed that Cabot perished at sea after a later unsuccessful expedition. When he met Richard III at Bosworth Field, Henry found that his army of dissidents and mercenaries was completely outnumbered. After the Holy Roman Emperor . [36] However, he spared Warwick's elder sister Margaret, who survived until 1541 when she was executed by Henry VIII. Thomas Penn's Winter King is not really a biography of Henry VII, and more a study of what he was directing his government to do in his name. With the English economy heavily invested in wool production, Henry VII became involved in the alum trade in 1486. Fittingly he dressed in expensive black. Edward would have liked to rid himself of Henry, a rival to his throne, but Francis kept Henry safe. They overrode all the usual legal processed and acted with complete impunity. One of the councils prominent members was Edmund Dudley, a man who helped Henry by enforcing the Kings legal rights, finding old laws to use against people and stretching the law to its limits. Even if the king outfaced his enemies in his lifetime, would they not forestall a Tudor succession? Seriously, got nudged by my partner when I'd nodded off. He spent most of the next 14 years under the protection of Francis II, Duke of Brittany. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . An ally of Henry's, Viscount Jean du Qulennec[fr], soon arrived, bringing news that Francis had recovered, and in the confusion Henry was able to flee to a monastery. After his victory at Bosworth Field, Henry married Edward IVs daughter Elizabeth of York. Henry responded to this threat by embedding spies into households. He likens the beginning of Henry VIIIs reign to a metaphorical spring, a second coming of sorts because Henry VIII seemed to be the opposite of his father. His bouts of grave illness brought the question repeatedly to the fore. The wedding was a triumph but in April 1502 a messenger brought the King the news that his eldest son had died of sweating sickness. In other cases, he brought his over-powerful subjects to heel by decree. To say the least, Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England is quite an interesting read. Henry VIII had become heir to the throne when his elder brother, Arthur, died in 1502. Henry VII is actually a less familiar figure, despite being the same person. [10] A contemporary writer and Henry's biographer, Bernard Andr, also made much of Henry's Welsh descent. He married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon. There are an awful lot of books written about the Tudor era, both fiction and non-fiction, so you have to ask whether this book adds anything new. When Henry VII called his first parliament he used it as an opportunity to legitimise his reign. To unite the opponents of Richard III, Henry had promised to marry Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV; and the coalition of Yorkists and Lancastrians continued, helped by French support, since Richard III talked of invading France.